Local supplies of the opioid-overdose reversal drug naloxone increased and became more accessible to the public in 2018.

The Indiana Recovery Alliance reports it distributed more than 26,500 doses of naloxone last year and aspires to dispense 50,000 doses this year.

Of the 30,000 doses the IRA ordered in 2018 from drug-giant Pfizer, preliminary totals indicate the syringe-services program distributed 26,646. Most, but not all, of those doses were handed out in Monroe County, according to IRA director Chris Abert.

The IRA uses two different tracking sheets to count what they distribute, Abert explained.

There’s a daily tracking log for naloxone distributed from the IRA’s office, van and at training sessions. They use another log if the Bloomington harm-reduction program travels out of county for naloxone training sessions. The hand-tabulated logs get transferred to a digital spreadsheet; distribution totals are double-checked through invoices and inventory counts.

Orders for the antidote are placed every few weeks, so the IRA’s supply features several different expiration dates.

“Our goal is 50,000 in 2019, and we have secured the funding from private donations,” Abert said. “It’s helped us build the capacity to provide naloxone.”

Donations of all denominations have contributed to the IRA’s increased naloxone supply. In recent years, $10 donations have been made on the organization’s website, work groups have raised $10,000 gifts and an anonymous benefactor donated $100,000.